Toby Jackson
Postdoc
Bio
I’m a postdoc at the University of Bristol focusing on remote sensing of tropical forests. My project uses airborne laser scanning to monitor growth and mortality processes across tropical landscapes. I’m specifically focusing on forests that have been actively restored, in order to asses how these interventions impact forest structure over time. I’m also using machine learning methods to segment trees, so that we can track individuals over time.
My background is in physics and I switched to forest ecology for my PhD. During this time I measured and modelled the risk of wind damage in broadleaf forests. This work introduced me to terrestrial laser scanning data, which can map the 3D architecture of trees in amazing detail. I then continued working with laser scanning data during my first previosu postdoc in Cambridge, mapping disturbance in tropical forests at the landscape scale.
Outside of working hours I can usually be found at the city farm or softplay centre (with my daughter) or driving to Wales to visit my family and get in the sea!